The purpose of this blog is to explore different places that spirituality intersects my daily life; from what it truly means to LOVE your neighbor all the way to how the newest movie,song,or tv show that I have experienced confronts spirituality rather intended or not.

About Me

I LOVE God, I have been married for 5 years to a wonderful woman, I am a recent college graduate of Lakeland college with a degree in Religious Studies,I have currently foregone going to Seminary, but feel called to work with teens and young adults and do so at my local church, Vineyard CC, in Grafton, WI.

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Friday, March 23, 2012

CrOssInG the NeW diviDE

I am currently a little behind on my pod cast listening. The
exact reason why, I am unable to say, but what I can say is that sometime late
last year I just stopped listening to my pod casts. This being said I am back
at it and catching up on the awesome stylings of some really cool people. I am even
thinking about adding a pod cast, but that is neither here nor there. Catching up
on my podcasts has been fun. While listening to a Homebrewed Christianity
podcast from 8/24/11, something the guest, Ingolf Dalferth, said stuck out to
me. On the recording Tripp and Ingolf Dalferth are discussing identity and
engaging the Biblical text when Dalferth states “{the Christian
perspective} . . . is a changing of one
way of looking at life and yourself to a completely different way of seeing
things . . .” The wonderfulness of hearing this quote right now is that I have
been itching to complete this blog, which you are currently reading, about this
same idea.

You see
this idea of a great change from one you to another you is all over the place
in TV, music, and movies. I probably could list many examples, but that really
isn’t my style. As I often do I must brag on the music of Linkin Park for two
reasons, one: they often write music that speaks to the relationship between
humanity and God, and two: there is one song of theirs that just screams of
this transformative power that occurs when the old you encounters the reality
of the living Christ. The song of which I speak is “The New Divide.” This song was introduced to the world with the
release of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” when it was used as the movie’s
theme song. The song has obvious allusions to the content of the film, which
has its own “God” encounters. One particular encounter is when Optimus Prime
speaks to Sam saying; “Fate, rarely calls on us at a moment of our choosing,” leading
Sam on another adventure where he is transformed further into a hero that he
never dreamed of becoming. This transformation drives the action of the movie,
and not to be seen as disconnected from the movie transformation becomes the
story that drives the music and lyrics of “The New Divide,” which can be viewed
right here.

I remembered black skies, the
lightning all around meI remembered each flash as time began to blurLike a startling sign that fate had finally found
meAnd your voice was all I heard that I get what I
deserve

So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this
memory cleanLet the floods cross the distance in your eyesGive me reason to fill this hole, connect the
space betweenLet it be enough to reach the truth that lies
across this new divide

There was nothing in sight but memories left
abandonedThere was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snowAnd the ground caved in between where we were
standingAnd your voice was all I heard that I get what I
deserve

So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this
memory cleanLet the floods cross the distance in your eyes
across this new divide

In every loss, in every lie, in every truth that
you'd denyAnd each regret and each goodbye was a mistake too
great to hideAnd your voice was all I heard that I get what I
deserve

So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this
memory cleanLet the floods cross the distance in your eyesGive me reason to fill this hole, connect the
space betweenLet it be enough to reach the truth that lies
across this new divideAcross this new divide, across this new divide

Transformation
from an encounter with something greater then ourselves is a powerful theme
that does not exist solely as tool of fiction, but it exists within our own
reality. Many of us can probably tell a story of how something that happened in
our lives, forever changing us from that event. Granted not all of these events
can be called positive events, but they will inevitably reveal something of our
true selves and who we were created to be. Dalferth, Linkin Park, and I are not
saying that you do not have to look inside and search within for further
revelation on whom we truly are, but rather, in this blog, we are speaking towards
those external encounters and events that are so powerful and challenging to
whom we thought we were that we have no choice but to wrestle and become
something completely different.

This
idea of extraordinary transformation is all over the Bible as well. I would go
so far as to say that the entire purpose of the Bible is to be a tool of
transformation, where you encounter the story of the living God, in the life of
and continued ministry of Jesus. The story of the conversion of Saul to Paul is
one such transformation. Paul’s transformation story is one where he truly did
cross a new divide and found a reason to fill the hole, connecting with the
space between.

When I
hear this song, I cannot help but think of the account of Saul’s conversion as
it is written in Acts. From the opening verse with the bright light surrounding
him, and a singular voice that only he could hear telling him of his fate, that
he would get what he deserved. Most Christians would have thought that Saul
deserved death for their persecution and executions, in the same way that Saul
himself thought he was going to die, but he was proved wrong. Instead that
which God deemed he deserved was a new life serving God for the betterment of humanity,
reconciling him to what he created him to be, and righting their relationship,
sending him to do likewise throughout all nations. This encounter transformed
Saul so completely into a new person that his name was changed to reflect that
he was no longer the same person.

I believe
that we all have “God” encounters, rather in music, TV, movies, personal
relationship, or random occurrences. When these occur we have two choices of
what to do about them. We can one: ignore what we encountered and choose to not
let it change us, or two: we can accept what we encountered and let it change
us, proving us wrong and surprising us at every turn, turning us into who we
were created to be. When you listen to “The New Divide” think about Paul’s
story or think about what you don’t like in your life, you can even meditate on
what you think your life should be like, but then allow yourself to encounter
God and see how it changes you.

Its
kind of like when I answered my call to ministry. Never in my wildest dreams
did I ever think I was created to do such a thing. However, I have not been the
same since I have encountered my new reality. It isn’t an easy thing I wrestle
with the new me all the time asking for a reason to prove me wrong, but I am
always answered the same way.

Recently,
I have joined a new church, The Vineyard, and have been busy as the Communion
Volunteer Coordinator and helping with Youth stuff when and where I can. I just
heard back from our head pastor on if I was accepted to take the position of Volunteer
Fundraising Coordinator and now officially hold said title, on a brief(a couple
of months) trial basis. I am constantly being offered opportunities to be who
God created me to be.

I had a review at work and I was complemented
on how my smile and attitude brighten up a room and that even if I were having
a bad day, I never let it show. The complement continued that my positive
attitude is infectious and makes me a pleasure to work with. Please realize
that I am paraphrasing, but this kind of compliment has been happening to me
quit frequently, which has gotten me to think, have I changed that much. There
was a time if I was having a bad day everyone would know it. I am sure that
this isn’t all encompassing, but it does mean that my conscious effort to not
allow myself to dwell on negativity can be considered effective. I even
received a compliment like this from a co-worker whom I used to not get along
with, which honestly meant a lot.

I could
not have changed this much singularly as the result of my own efforts, but this
has ultimately been an outward manifestation of the internal change that has
been progressively more obvious the more I accept my calling to be a minister
and my encounter with the living Christ. In other words answering God’s call on
my life has transformed me and allowed me to discover the things that bring me inner
joy and find ways to use those to meet the world’s deepest needs.